A .22 pistol can serve a wealth of roles — plinker, trainer, competition gun — maybe even self-defense sidearm. Many .22 pistols fill one or two of these roles well enough but aren’t up to the gamut. It takes a careful blend of features to competently serve in all of these roles, and lots of folks are asking about the Taurus TX22: is it up to the task?

Over the years Taurus earned a spotty reputation. Low-quality Brazilian-made revolvers and pistols have historically required repairs, and the turnaround for fixes is typically months. So, why do so many people continue to buy Taurus? The price.

The good news today is that while most Taurus guns still carry a budget-friendly price, they’ve come leaps and bounds since the 80s and 90s. Even the most cynical gun snob would acknowledge this.

That brings us to the TX22, Taurus’ striker-fired semi-auto rimfire blaster. In short, it’s an absolute bang-up little plinker with a serious side as well. All three TX22 models (standard, compact, competition) are affordable, ergonomic, accurate, and most importantly — extremely reliable. Oh, and they’re cheaper than the competition, which gives them a leg up in several ways.

Rimfire at left, centerfire right. The indentations are where a firing pin struck the cartridge, igniting the powder and sending the bullet screaming down the barrel.

Quick Note on Rimfire vs. Centerfire

Seeing as this handgun uses rimfire ammo, a brief aside on rimfire vs. centerfire cartridges is warranted before we get into the final details.

In short, rimfire cartridges get their name from the way they’re ignited (shoot/fire). At the base of each cartridge is a rim inside of which is a priming compound that ignites the powder charge. The rimfire’s cousin, the centerfire, has a dedicated primer seated in the middle of the base of each cartridge.

The biggest complaint against rimfire cartridges is that they’re not as reliable as centerfire. Sometimes this is true. In the cheapest rimfire the priming compound may not be uniformly spread throughout the rim, leading to “dead” spots that fail to ignite the cartridge when whacked by a firing pin. Oftentimes rotating the bullet a few degrees puts a portion of the rim that’s primed back into the firing pin’s path. Also, budget rimfire ammo is filthy dirty. Gunk buildup can quickly cause malfunctions in semi-autos and even some bolt actions.

But it’s only the cheap ammo that gives shooters issues. Because most shooters use cheap ammo (especially for training), they often claim spotty reliability. Using quality ammo (as with many things in life) gives better results.

Taurus TX22 Overview

*The Competition model is the standard TX22 with no appreciable differences in any of the above stats. It’s just more tricked out. The 10+1 is for certain American states that prohibit anything over 10 rounds. The 20-round mags come with the new T.O.R.O. TX22.

The TX22 is a striker-fired, semi-auto pistol chambered in (you guessed it) .22LR. It’s currently available in three variants; the original standard model, a compact, and a competition model. They're all built around the same proven operating system with differences in height, weight, length, and optics readiness.

ammo

Cci 22 Long Rifle Standard Vel Intl 50/5000

$3.92
CCI

view product

Prices accurate at time of writing

These dimensions give the TX22 lineup great versatility for shooters who want the same platform for carry, home defense, and competition. Not that you’d necessarily want a .2-anything for home defense or carry, but plenty of gang bangers are laid low each year thanks to the lowly .22. In other words, it’s better than a sharp stick.

The TX22 breaks down very easily. Ensure the gun is unloaded, depress the tab above the trigger, slide the slide forward, pull the trigger, then lift it off.

TX22 Highlights

The TX22 does so much stuff so well that it checks many boxes for lots of folks, especially given its variants. Taurus started with a clean slate to build this gun. It’s obvious from the many mold-breaking features that the company wanted to set a new bar for rimfire pistols.

Capacity

For decades, every single rimfire pistol was 10+1. That’s it. Stacking rimmed cases in a mag any other way except single stack is a pain and invites disaster. Most guns are double stack, meaning the bullets are staggered in the magazine, upping capacity over single-stack, which lines them directly on top of one another. It’s like a four-lane highway vs a two-lane road.

The standard 16+1 magazine was a great leap forward for rimfire pistols. Now, the new T.O.R.O. (Taurus Optic Ready Option) TX222 comes with 22-round mags. Note the circular tab at the bottom of the stack. This is the “ear” you depress to load magazines easily and quickly.

Notice the slight stagger to the bullets. This increases a magazine’s capacity potential.

Taurus engineers built a magazine that’s simple to load with “ears” on the sides of the body that let you pull the follower down, allowing you to just drop rounds in, rather than pushing them in with increasing force as the magazine fills up. Plus, these mags hold up to 16 rounds, which was unheard of for rimfire pistols. And the best part? These mags work. Solid, working mags solve most of the issues semi-automatic guns encounter.

Ergonomics

This shooter wears size XL gloves and the TX22 fits him — like a glove.

The TX22 is so stinking shootable it’s hilarious. Besides being a .22, it points naturally for most shooters, which makes hitting targets as intuitive as pointing a finger. This is due greatly to the grip angle and contours. The grip is relatively narrow so small-handed shooters can grasp it easily, while bigger hands have no trouble getting a solid purchase.

The TX22 features an excellent grip texture. It’s not rough at all, but still sticks well in the hand.

Threaded Barrel

The twist-on threaded barrel adapter.

In case you weren’t aware, suppressors are exploding in popularity these days. Taurus acknowledges this by including a threaded barrel adapter. Other manufacturers (GLOCK) make you buy a whole new barrel for suppressed shooting. Not cool.

Trigger

This is another area of focus for Taurus. The trigger is Taurus’ “Performance Trigger System” that delivers a smooth, easy uptake and a break far crisper and nicer than the average striker-fired pistol.

Price

Since this is a Taurus offering, you know it’ll be a good deal. MSRP on the TX22 is $349, the Compact $394, and $538 for the Competition, but their street prices are consistently $100 or lower than retail.

Aftermarket

The TX22 has been out since 2019, and the gun has since surged in popularity. With success comes aftermarket support. Also in that time we’ve seen explosive inflation, and guns and ammo are not immune to this phenomenon. Plus, many shooters have gravitated to rimfire guns.

The TX22 has been embraced by competitive shooters, plinkers, and defensive-minded citizens, wth corresponding aftermarket. You can find magazine extensions that up magazine capacity to 20 or more rounds, cocking devices for faster charging during competition, as well as myriad holsters for competition and concealed carry. The brimming aftermarket is a testament to this gun’s acceptance by the shooting public.

Even though the trigger is perfectly acceptable, there are aftermarket options that shorten and lighten the pull for faster shooting. Compensators bring the negligible recoil and muzzle flip to zero, and magazine funnels facilitate quicker mag changes.

The TX22 has a very acceptable trigger. But, aftermarket options are available.

There’s also a wealth of sight options. If you wanna stick with irons, there are fiber optics and tritium options, and if you go with a red dot, adapter plates can accommodate any on the market today. Basically, you can swap so many parts that your TX22 will be like the gun of Theseus.

TX22 on the Range

In a nutshell, the TX22 is an absolute joy on the range. It’s the delight of the plinker, new shooter, trainer, and target shooter. Seriously. It runs, is accurate, fills many roles and is the cheapest way to turn money into noise these days.

Loading magazines is easy with the “ears” on the mag bodies; 16 rounds last longer than the standard 10 for rimfire guns, and it hardly ever hiccups. That’s saying something for an affordable rimfire gun.

Simple three-dot sights work well. Excuse the scuffs; this ol gal has some miles on her.

The recoil impulse from even the hottest high-velocity .22 cartridges is negligible in the TX22. This, combined with its very modest report, makes it a fantastic gun for new shooters. The iron sights are the standard three-dot affair, so it’s good for general use.

ammo

Cci 22 Long Rifle High Velocity 40Gr Lrn Red 100/5000

$10.24
CCI

view product

Prices accurate at time of writing

However, if you wanna enhance the gun’s accuracy (and simplicity), lots of TX22 models are optics ready, so they can accommodate miniature red dot sights (MRDS). These red dots function just like red dots for rifles, but they’re shrunk and ruggedized for the punishment life on a pistol slide deals out. Red dots are also a boon for newbies; just put the dot on the target and pull the trigger. No more lining up the dots.

The rear sight is adjustable. Note the thumb safety in the engaged/safe position.

Our sample TX22 is the OG model — full size, 16 rounds, no optic cut. Sure, it lacks some of the bells and whistles of the newer models, but it’s what lit the TX on fire in the market. Three features that stood out on this and every TX are the capacity, price, and reliability. Nothing else matters if a gun won’t run, and the TX runs. It always has.

There were issues with barrel rifling in early models (not ours) that made the gun wildly inaccurate, but Taurus corrected course and took care of affected customers. Since then, there’s been no hiccups.

Note the indent above the shooter’s finger. It offers a great tactile spot to teach new shooters to rest their finger when not actively shooting.

TX22 Market Competition

This isn’t about the Competition model, but rather the semi-auto pistol market that competes with the TX22.

For years it’s been the realm of a few stalwarts (Ruger Mark series and 22/45, Browning Buckmark etc.) with weak-kneed and flimsy challengers failing for one reason or another (SIG Mosquito, Smith & Wesson 22A etc.). The TX22 sits atop the heap for the aforementioned reasons of reliability, price, capacity, and versatility. That said, who’s vying for the rimfire crown these days?

We won’t mention the Ruger Mark Series, Browning Buckmark, Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory and the like because they’re more purely target plinkers. There’s nothing wrong with them, but they’re not exactly in the same category as the TX22, which is more closely related to centerfire pistols.

• The Glock 44 is the first that comes to many people's minds. It was released several years ago to much fanfare — until it was discovered that it used 10-round mags, required shooters to spend another few hundred dollars if they wanted a threaded barrel, cost way more than the TX, and did not feature Glock’s legendary reliability. Hard pass, except for Glock loyalists.
• SIG’s P322 nearly closes the gap on some of the advantages the TX22 offers. It’s almost the exact same size as the TX22, but carries 20 in the mag. Not too shabby! It also comes with a threaded barrel adapter and a reportedly nice trigger. But, it’s twice the cost of the Taurus. Ouch.
• Walther’s P22 comes pretty close to the TX22 in cost, but it’s less proven than the Taurus. It’s fickle around grime build up, which takes a star away for reliability. It lacks the variants the TX offers, and is hammer-fired, which isn’t really a deal breaker, just a different preference.
• The FN 502 is a very cool gun that runs and mimics the firm’s centerfire lineup, but it costs more than the TX22. Taurus has cheap guns down pat, so they'll usually win that category. The FN 502 is actually a super solid gun, but you’ll need to plop down some “real gun” cash for it.

TIP: The SIG Mosquito is such a piece of crap we only mention it for the LOLs. Seriously. Avoid that junk at all costs.

Final Thoughts

The Taurus TX22 is packed full of so many features and advantages that it’s hard to ignore. Even the snobbiest gun snob will admit that it’s a pretty fine pistol — especially for the price. It’s reliable, versatile, and has a swelling aftermarket for customization and upgrades. All things considered, it fits the needs of many shooters, and again, you simply can’t beat its value.

But if there’s anything a plinking gun is good for, it’s eating a ton of ammo. Stock up on more ammo you can afford (with the quality that won’t damage your gun) from a supplier that cares about your experience. Check out our selection of .22 LR ammo in small boxes and bulk cases.

Want to improve your shooting game? Pro Armory also offers handgun training to help you become more proficient and safe with your firearm of choice — all from your own home. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified when training officially launches.

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